The majestic ship, once traversing the depths of the universe and participating in dozens of expeditions, slowly drifted in stellar space, enveloped in the cold of the cosmos and increasingly distant from Neberum. Distant voyages only hardened the sturdy, seasoned hull, adding new properties to its wondrous qualities and increasing its value over time. The departure and distancing from the home planet was planned and prepared, considering the consequences of the intended design. Such was the original idea of the owner of the star vessel, the head of the Betaros clan, who attempted to correct his mistake, made many millennia ago. The ship was enveloped in powerful high-level protection signs. No spiritual force or energy aura could penetrate the bowels of this planet carrier without revealing itself and its secret intentions. On guard of the peace of the inhabitants of the ship were the priests of the clan, possessing strong mental skills. Initially, all possible security measures were taken. The ship passed through a spatial fracture, diluting its route with confusing trajectories. And despite all precautions, an energy entity penetrated the ship, possessing incredible mental power that was beyond perception, leaving temporary pauses and spatial distortions along the way into the depths of the ship. His entire path took place in complete silence, without harming anyone, only freezing the time period and quietly putting the high priests into a stupor. The entity was in no hurry, as it controlled time, and time itself was on its side. The goal pursued by the entity was in a spatial pocket, created here by the forces of the clan priests. The entity felt the presence of the desired goal and suddenly discovered another incredibly strong aura that could stand on par with it. But the entity expected to find a strong soul here and knew that it would be near the object for which it had penetrated this ship. The artificial space was also protected by all sorts of seals and energy shields. But for the entity, these measures had no effect. The entity easily penetrated this man-made world as well. The entity, once a mental soul belonging to a mighty being capable of creating worlds, breathing life into barren planets or destroying everything with a wave of its powerful aura, now faced its end. It knew this, foresaw it, or rather, predicted it, given its powers over space and time. But before its complete disappearance into "nothingness," it had something important to do. Aware of the impending prophecy, it infiltrated this ship to find the soul destined to play a key role in it.
"You understand why I'm here, esteemed Guardian," the aura, composed of tiny particles in chaotic motion, voiced. "I want to speak with the boy. He must learn his destiny. I have little time."
"Time is under your control, Irichtey. He is too weak to accept his fate now. He needs to grow stronger. Even now, he cannot fully accept the legacy of Arsun. It's all happening too fast." The Guardian left Zuhair's sea of mind, appearing before Irichtey's mental projection.
"The beginning of the Third Chaos is approaching, and he is unfortunately the only one who can save Arat. My people will be on the verge of destruction and will not survive the coming chaos. The cycle repeats itself again and again," the soul of Irichtey calmly stated, hovering in space. Then, addressing Zuhair, it said:
"Wake up!"
Zuhair gradually emerged from his stupor, and noticing the chaotic aura in the space, bowed before it and said:
"Misak, son of Sidar, greets the esteemed Irichtey. I regret that we must meet under these circumstances."
Irichtey laughed and smiled, saying:
"And you say he's weak, Guardian. He's quite the cunning one. Not everyone, even at the celestial level, can withstand my time freeze." Irichtey clearly liked the boy. "And you have pleasant manners. It's good that you are exactly as I imagined you, Zuhair."
Zuhair was taken aback, hearing his name and not expecting to be recognized so soon. He knew, however, that with Irichtey's near-limitless power, it was no wonder he knew more than Zuhair could imagine. The courteous tone could also be deceptive, so caution was best with such a powerful person. Zuhair replied, trying not to show his surprise:
"Venerable Irichtey is perceptive and worthy of respect. But your essence didn't travel so far just to shock a youth like me?"
"Precisely, my young friend. I am running out of time, and I have a gift for you."
Without explanation or preamble, the chaotic projection of the old Meruid pointed his finger at Zuhair's forehead. A beam of concentrated energy erupted from his fingertip and gently entered the boy's forehead. Zuhair, expecting nothing like this, struggled to accept the wave of energy. He was blinded. He had been on edge for days. His sea of mind was always turbulent, practically a thoroughfare for powerful souls and clusters. The constant strain caused pain and tension, but there were also achievements. In this space, constantly under stress, Zuhair had raised his level by another Kadam. Only through hard work does one know victory. Zuhair was not opposed and was ready to suffer as much as necessary, as long as there were results. He needed strength and would do everything possible to become stronger. Suddenly, the Guardian spoke:
"Calm your mind, concentrate. Accept this flow, let the energy pass through your sea, not through your meridians."
Zuhair did as he was told. Indeed, the Guardian was right. The energy was no longer wasted, causing spiritual and physical pain in his bones and meridians, but was absorbed faster, and its processing and cultivation were much cleaner than before. The body received only pure energy, while the byproducts were absorbed by the sea itself. The Sea of Consciousness distributed the energy as consumption increased.
"Old Irichtey decided to give you a very valuable skill. This is a skill of spatial transcendence. You must master it immediately. Your body may not be able to handle it and cause rejection. I will help prevent this." The Guardian's voice echoed in his head, giving strength and reassurance. Lately, Zuhair had begun to feel something he had so little of in his life: care and support. It was so unusual, and the value of it all surpassed everything else time and time again.
Zuhair sat in a meditation posture and entered his sea. There, he discovered a large tangle of wandering waves. The waves consisted of ancient runes that burned like flames in a furnace. They would flare up brightly, ready to burn through the skin, and then cool down instantly. Zuhair entered this tangle and found himself in the very space of the skill. Only powerful skills above the celestial level had their own personal space. Inside the space were many stars, and an ocean raged beneath his feet. The space was filled with life-giving ether. Immediately, a human figure appeared. It was an old man, but with a powerful build. He approached the guy and said:
"Chosen one, listen to what I say. Since you are here, it means you are worthy to master the skill of supremacy over space. This skill includes seven divine runes, creating a structure in a specific order."
The old man's voice was very similar to the voice of an old Meruid entity, and Zuhair realized that it was Irichtei himself, a fragment of the Meruid's soul. Apparently, he personally created and enhanced this skill. A celestial skill is not a toy. The main thing is that the body can withstand it; the guy understood that complications could arise with his level. But now is not the time to hesitate. Zuhair, seeing how the old man's fingers and palms danced, creating rune after rune, began to repeat and memorize the sequence. The effect of the rune construction sequence immediately began to manifest. The stars swirled in a vortex, creating fiery threads, and in an instant, countless fiery rings formed overhead. The old man did not stop, and Zuhair kept up with him, memorizing and imprinting every movement in his memory. Each rune remained in his brain like a burning brand. Myriads of fiery rings froze overhead, drawing black holes into the vortexes created by the force. Zuhair rushed into the center of the rings and shot into the distance at incredible speed. He dissolved at the event horizon. He began to feel nauseous, and his head began to split. Gradually, the pain shifted to one point, concentrating on his forehead. All this time, he didn't stop building the sequence with his fingers. He became one with the runes. At one point, he saw himself. He saw many of his incarnations. And he didn't know which one was the true one. At one moment, he suddenly felt like an incarnation, while the true body watched him from afar. He decided to calm the chaos in his soul. He started rebuilding the runes, this time observing balance and spacing. And it seemed to be working. The chaos gradually became ordered, losing its confusion. After another construction, the stars froze, as did the raging ocean, becoming a still picture. The guy managed to freeze the old man too. To which the incarnation of Irichtey showed his satisfaction with a semblance of a smile. He didn't know how much time had passed, because playing with temporal flows, you could easily lose track and simply spend eternity or a moment here. Having put the sea of mind in order, calming the consciousness, he achieved harmony in understanding time. All the secrets seemed to become available to his understanding, and he suddenly opened his eyes and stood up. A burning tattoo of a bright blue ring appeared on Zuhair's forehead and immediately disappeared.
"You are quite strong for your level. The Guardian didn't even have to interfere in the absorption process. You need constant repetition and training to fully master this skill and further develop it to a divine level," said the meruid essence when Zuhair finished meditating. "At the highest level, this skill will help you create temporal pockets like this one or accelerate flows," added Irichtey, pointing to the three experts, two priests frozen at the pedestal, and Arsun, who was sitting in a meditative pose.
"I thank you, venerable one, for this skill." Zuhair bowed, placing his palms on his chest. The chaotic entity laughed and said contentedly:
"It is but a small thing I owe you. I have much to explain. But now, as I said, we are short on time. We will have a chance to meet if you visit Arat. But do not delay your visit. And now, time for a little fun. I sense the approach of strong individuals eager for this ship. There are many of them. I suspect their purpose and suggest we meet them with dignity. What do you say, Guardian? Care to shake off the rust?"
Irichtey clearly knew something beyond Zuhair's understanding. The Guardian also seemed to sense or know something in advance:
"If my suspicions are correct, they are after you, Zuhair. I don't know how pure their intentions are, but there's certainly no friendliness there."
"I also sense a strong bloodlust. It's most likely your newfound kin," Irichtey interjected.
"Could it be that Grandfather Kumus has decided to settle scores with me?" Zuhair tried to understand the guests' intentions. "He seemed to support me. It doesn't seem like he would do this."
"Kumus has nothing to do with it, I think they want to replace him too. Think, boy, who benefits from your elimination and you will find the answer," the entity replied calmly.
"They're close, time to decide. I'll temporarily take a priest's body. And I think it's time to awaken Arsuna and Falya. For now, I'll use this guy, hope he doesn't mind." The Guardian acted, releasing a powerful aura, transforming into a ball of energy, intending to enter the priest's consciousness through his forehead.
"Arsuna, I think we'll leave him for now. I can't predict whose side he's on. I hope he chooses the right side when he wakes up. He faced a difficult choice back on Arath, and it's been tormenting him for years. This turmoil in his soul causes him suffering. That's why he decided to submit it to your judgment, boy. You had to decide for him, evaluate his actions. Maybe it's not entirely noble, but don't forget, he's been dealing with this burden alone for a long time. And the fact that he decided to open up to you is more of a release for himself. I don't know how long I can maintain my projection, but I'll try to help as much as I can, and then you'll have to do it yourself, my young friend. So, I'll fill the second priest." Irichtey's projection said, his chaotic aura began to diminish into a fiery stream and began to slowly absorb into the head of the second priest. Irichtey, whose true body was on Arath, was showing wonders of strength, maintaining a mental connection with his essence across the vast distance in the universe. In an instant, the priest - Irichtey straightened his shoulders and released his aura with a cry:
"Ugh, it's hard to maintain this body. I'm only at the middle celestial level right now. Oh well. I sense they're already here. Are you ready, Guardian?" Irichtey clearly liked the upcoming mess. The second priest also straightened his shoulders, and his eyes emitted a blue light that emitted poisonous fumes when it came into contact with the air. Immediately, the Guardian in the priest's body released his powerful aura.
"Venerable ones, I too am ready to defend my lord. Please count on me in this fight as well." All turned their heads to Falya, who stood bowing. She had recovered and was filled with a warlike spirit.
"Falya, what are you planning? Stop. You could be wounded or even killed. This fight is not for you," Zuhair said in a categorical tone, but was immediately interrupted by Irichtey:
"Come on, kid, let her have some fun too. She's an Elohim, isn't she, girl? Besides, her level is much higher than yours, and don't forget that I won't last long, and you need every bit of help you can get right now."
"My young lord, please accept my help. I have lived my whole life for this moment, lived for my young lord, and if necessary, I am ready to part with this life. Allow me to help you. I cannot exist further if something happens to you," Falya said, bowing to Zuhair. And the young man felt warmth towards this girl and the nobility of her actions. It was at this moment that he realized that he had true friends by his side, ready to support him and help him survive and achieve his goal.
The ship began to shake, and noticeable vibrations began to spread throughout the hull. They were trying to break through the protective seals from the outside. And judging by their actions, they would soon succeed. A thunderous voice was heard, shaking the space:
"Venerable Arsun, we know Sidar's son, Misak, is aboard your ship! Surrender him, and we guarantee you will not face justice!"
"I'll go out and fight there, or they'll destroy the ship." Zuhair grabbed the nearest sword, secured to the weapon shield by energy chains. He unleashed his aura, and raging flames erupted from his body. The skills of the Keepers of the Purifying Fire were not forgotten.
"Oh, my young friend. This is no ordinary sword. I sense a strong aura of another soul within it," said the priest, Irichtey, looking at the sword in the boy's hands. Only now did Zuhair carefully examine the weapon in his hands. It was a light, curved blade without any embellishments or stones. It looked as if it had been cut from the top of a metal cliff, and the power of the ether surged within it. He was ready for battle and rushed out of the space. The others followed him. The Keeper Priest removed the protective seals as they approached the exit from the ship. After some time, all four were in open space. Enveloped in energy shields, they hovered in the air in front of the ship. Before them was an unsightly picture, indicating that the forces were far from equal. The number of newcomers was enormous. Two large ships with incomprehensible symbols on their hulls hung nearby, gleaming with metal in the starlight. About fifty experts in energy protective cocoons were located around the Betaros clan ship, encircling the vessel. All the arrivals lacked any symbols of belonging to any mazhab or clan. Energy masks and aura-concealing seals, black robes, all indicated that the uninvited guests had prepared and intended to resort to the most extreme measures, while remaining unrecognized. Irichtey, glancing assessingly, mentally expressed his opinion:
Two at the initial Divine level, four at the peak Celestial Ladder, about ten at the initial Celestial, and the rest at the Earth Ladder. It'll be tough, but there's no other way.
The Manuscript Guardian, in the priest's body, stepped forward, unleashing a brutal Divine-level aura, and thundered: "Who dares invade the ship of the Betaros Clan Head?! Are you seeking death?! Identify yourselves immediately! Perhaps then, you'll live!"
"Isn't a priest taking too much upon himself?! Even if you are at the Divine level! You won't threaten us! I'll repeat myself, hand over Misak, and maybe then you'll die quickly!" the leader of the group, a Divine-level man with crackling, powerful lightning bolts flashing through his fingers, changing direction and engulfing the space around him, laughed. Irichtey added, "Calling for help is useless, these bastards have locked down the space."
"I'll take on the two at the Divine level, and you, Venerable Irichtey, take the four at the Celestial level. I think you should be able to handle them," the Guardian assigned roles.
"You don't value me at all, Guardian. Oh well. And you guys, try to hold out against these snot-nosed kids at the Earth level. Once I'm done with my four, I'll help you," Irichtey said to Zuhair and Falye. Zuhair simply nodded and stepped forward.
"Well, here I am, Misak! If you want to take me, you'll have to try!" With that, Zuhair released a fiery aura and held his sword out in front of him, which settled into his palm as if molded for it. The sword suddenly flared with bright light, and this light, becoming an arc, began to grow, reaching gigantic proportions. The sword had accepted its new master.